Review of 'Letters from a Stoic: Epistulae Morales Ad Lucilium (Classics)' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Killer advice in a great format. I listened to the Tao of Seneca quite a few years ago, but taking my time reading it here was like a new book all over again. I recently finished his Dialogues and Essays collection as well, and am blown away by how much of Seneca's work remains relevant 2,000 years later.
These letters (also called the Moral Letters to Lucilius or Moral Epistles) are translated so well that you get a real sense of Roman life through Seneca's last three years of life. The format, even if it was planned to be a body of work for a larger audience in advance, was a great way to distill his advice over time. The letters range from 1–10+ pages, and are filled with nice touches of correspondence like "my dear Lucilius" and "Farewell" at the end of each letter. Seneca writes from what seems …
Killer advice in a great format. I listened to the Tao of Seneca quite a few years ago, but taking my time reading it here was like a new book all over again. I recently finished his Dialogues and Essays collection as well, and am blown away by how much of Seneca's work remains relevant 2,000 years later.
These letters (also called the Moral Letters to Lucilius or Moral Epistles) are translated so well that you get a real sense of Roman life through Seneca's last three years of life. The format, even if it was planned to be a body of work for a larger audience in advance, was a great way to distill his advice over time. The letters range from 1–10+ pages, and are filled with nice touches of correspondence like "my dear Lucilius" and "Farewell" at the end of each letter. Seneca writes from what seems like multiple different villas outside of Rome during his semi-retirement (never officially granted) under Nero. He covers so much: education, study, health, wealth, simple living, fear, loss, death, virtue, freedom, anger, vices, time, and happiness to name some topics.
I recommend this Dover Thrift Edition, as it has all 124 letters. It seems like many other popular editions are abridged.